434 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, ii 



COFFEE PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL. 

 The Centro da Lavoura e Commercio has recently for- 

 warded30 packagesof coffee to the International Hygienic 

 Exposition in London, and 40 packages to the Interna- 

 tional Cotton Exposition in New Orleans. The persever- 

 ance of the Centro in seeking to make the Brazilian pro- 

 duct more widely kn iwn is certainly a thing to be com- 

 mended, and under favourable conditions will unquestion- 

 ably result in some advantage to the Brazilian producers. 

 But, at the same time, we can not help thinking that the 

 time and effort of the Centro might, be employed to much 

 greater advantage to the country at large. It is idle, per- 

 haps, to expect an association of coffee factors and pro- 

 ducers to take an interest in other products, however es- 

 sential and urgent, such a diversity of industries maybe; 

 but even within their own special industry they arc over- 

 looking some of the most important factors in its profit- 

 ableness and development. 80 far as we have been able 

 to judge, the Centro's propaganda has been confined wholly 

 to the marketing of the product, and that at. times when 

 the consuming markets of the world are largely overstocked 

 and prices are unprofitable low. Every one knows that 

 production is steadily increasing and in a ratio greater 

 than consumption. The natural result of such a state of 

 atfairs is falling prices, which will remain at a low figure 

 lust so long as production continues to lead consumption. 

 In such a state of alfairs, it may be wise to seek new 

 consuming markets for the surplus of production, but. that 

 certainly is far from being the only or even the best 

 remedy to be adopted. Brazil can find and open no new 

 consuming market which she will not be compelled to 

 immediately share whith other producers, because she is 

 there meeting them on neutral ground. With the matter 

 of greater cheapness of production and cheaper and better 

 facilities for marketing, however, the case is very different. 

 Brazil ought and can produce coffee more cheaply than 

 any other country in the world. In a great measure, 

 however, her processes of production are antiquated, wasteful 

 aud expensive. The soil is indifferently cultivated, rarely 

 fertilized, and speedily abandoned. The trees are rarely, 

 if ever, trimmed, and no pains whatever are taken to 

 develop and sustain their best bearing qualities. The result 

 is that the product is less than what it should be for the 

 area and number of laborers employed. Then the processes 

 of picking are generally wasteful, and those of preparing 

 for market are still far more expensive than they should 

 be. Then take the excessive costs of transportation to the 

 seaboard, the multitude of petty charges and commissions 

 incident to marketing, and, lastly, the general and provincial 

 export taxes, and we have abundant causes for the excessive 

 cost of the product wholly within the country. Instead 

 of seeking notoriety and decorations through exhibiting 

 Brazilian coffee in foreign markets, the Centro and its 

 friends can do a far more valuable service to the producer 

 by seeking to remove burdens and unnecessary costs at 

 home. That done, there will be no need of any propa- 

 ganda abroad, for the cheapness of the product will be 

 all the advertisement it needs. — Rio jVeies. 



CINCHONA : 



REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA 

 ENTEKPRIZE IN JAVA FOR THE YEAR 1883. 



By R. vanRomu.xde, Director of the Government Cinchona 

 Enterprize. 



(Translated for the " Ceylon Observer.") 

 1. Weather. — Tho year 1S83 was marked by a large 

 number of dry days. At the end of February a drought, 

 very unusual for that month, commenced, which continued 

 until the latter half of March. The proper cast monsoon 

 set in at the ( nd of April and lasted until the middle of 

 October. The dry monsoon was of very long duration, but 

 from time to time several refreshing showers of rain fell : 

 at thi' end ot August aud beginning of September indeed 

 there were a number of rainy days. Night frosts and strong 

 east winds, w hii-b generally accompany a drought, were not 

 experienced. At the end of January a severe storm took 

 place on all the estates. At Nagrak the storm caused a 

 considerable amount of damage to plants and buildings. 

 The storm was so violent, that a large number of the glass 

 panes of the propagating-house there were blown in. On 



the other estates, however, the damage was of less account. 

 The weather was on the whole very favourable for the 

 Government enterprize. The drought was not conducive to 

 the production of secoud crops, so that labor was plentiful 

 and the harvesting and drying of bark underwent little or no 

 interruption. 



2. Propagation. — The number of plants in the open at 

 the end of the year amounted to 1,9150,500. Of these, 

 100,000 are cuttings and grafts of C. Ledgeriana aud 035,500 

 Ledgeriana seedlings. In the nurseries' there were found 

 on counting to be 1,059,000 Ledgerianas, of which 2,700 

 cuttings and 22,300 grafts, 194)000 succirubras, and 80,000 

 officinalis, part of which will be kept for planting out in 

 the west monsoon of 1883-4. The grafting of Ledgeriana 

 and succirubra was carried on energetically. The experi- 

 ments with the growing of grafts on succirubras in the 

 open was attended with such continuous ill-success, that 

 they were entirely discontinued. Of all the oculatious, 

 ferule and crown grafts, winch have been made at different 

 times in 1882 and 1883, not more than a tenth have suc- 

 ceeded. The experiments with the growing of grafts in 

 propagating-houses under double glass again gave better 

 results. The results would have been much more favor- 

 able if want of growing-room had not proved a hindrance. 

 Of the five propagating-houses at Tjinjiroean two have had 

 to be entirely demolished, and a third is gradually beginning 

 to get past the useful stage. All available energy is be- 

 ing directed to the erection of now buildings for artificial 

 propagation, hut the want of skilled carpenters, who are 

 needed so much for other operations also, is tire cause 

 of the building of propagating-houses not progressing as 

 rapidly as could be desired. Grafting was confined for 

 the most part to the propagating of Ledgeriana plants with 

 more than 10 per cent quinine. The grafts wcro specially 

 taken from the well-known mother tree No. 23, which 

 shows ll'Ol per cent of that alkaloid in its bark, and 

 from which, moreover, such rich descendants were obtained. 

 From the mother tree No. 38, also, which, although it 

 does not show such a high yield of quinine (S\S2 per 

 cent), yet gives at least equally valuable descendants, a 

 good number of grafts were obtained. The blossoms of 

 both trees are peculiarly suited for reciprocal fertilization, 

 the style of the first being long and that of the other short, 

 and the endeavour is to be made to form only small plant- 

 ations of each tree, in order to promote mutual legitim- 

 ate fertilization. The artificial propagation of the richest 

 plants raised from seed of the mother trees Nos. 23 and 

 38 was at the same time vigorously carried on. Among 

 these were found some which at four years old showed 

 a yield of ll-12Jper cent quinine from the bark, and which 

 it will be advisable therefore to propagate on a large scale. 

 The young trees however yielded no satisfactory grafts. 

 The grafts of these trees standing in the open . were en- 

 couraged by every possible means, such as manuring and 

 thorough working of the soil, to make a vigorous growth, 

 aud should in their turn produce within a short period 

 (in any case during the course of 1884) a considerable 

 number of grafts. Finally, a hybrid obtained from seed 

 of the Ledgeriana mother tree No. 23 was chosen for 

 artificial propagation. This hybrid, corresponding in vigor 

 of growth with a C. succhulrra, but exactly like a rich 

 Ledgeriana in composition of bark, — viz., with i0'3 per 

 cent quinine and no quinidine and cinchonidine, — is, from 

 its vigorous growth and its richness in alkaloid, of all 

 known varieties and forms the most profitable for cultiv- 

 ation. Besides the advantages mentioned, which may be ex- 

 pected from a propagation of the hybrid, it can appropriate to 

 itself the privilege of being alone used for the planting of old 

 fields or uprooted plants, where the Ledgeriana type at first 

 grows but slowly. For the production of seed the hyi-rid 

 alone will probably not be used, and therefore it. will 

 not be mixed with the Ledger type grafts at Tirtasari. 

 At Tjinjiroean there are about 200 grafts of this hybrid in 

 the open, and during 1884 the extension of this valuable 

 cinchona will be carried out as vigorously as possible. 

 With the exception of the houses for artificial propagation 

 at, Tjinjiroean and of a small propagating-house at Nagrak, 

 all such buildings on the other estates have been broken uj>. 

 For the propagation of seed-plants they appear, in view 

 of 111 abundant supply of seed, to be no more needed. 

 Sowing in covered beds gave on the whole very good re- 

 sults. For the use of the southern estates nurseries wero 

 formed almost solely on Tjinjiroean. The other estate 



